All three indexes are brushing off coronavirus concerns
Stocks have been mostly higher today, with the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) both notching even more record highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) hasn't been far behind. Trade bellwethers Caterpillar (CAT) and United Technologies (UTX) helped prop up the blue-chip index for much of the morning, but at last check stocks were paring their gains. Meanwhile, oil is recovering amid reports that coronavirus cases are slowing. At the halfway point, crude for March delivery is up 1.4% to trade at $50.30 per barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- How Under Armour stock slipped to the bottom of the New York Stock Exchange after earnings.
- Behind Hasbro's mixed holiday-quarter earnings report.
- Plus, options bulls bet big on LEVI; the federal ruling giving Sprint stock a big boost; and PHIO stock hits rock bottom.
Denim company Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) is seeing a massive surge in bullish activity in the options pits today, with 4,103 calls across the tape so far -- 11 times what is typically seen at this point -- compared to just 234 puts. The April 21 strike call is by far the most active, with contracts potentially being bought to open here. LEVI is up 0.6% at $20.01 at last glance.
Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) is by far the best stock on the New York Stock Exchange after a federal judge approved T-Mobile's (TMUS) takeover of the firm, despite objections that the deal would go against antitrust laws. The security is up 73% to trade at $8.30 because of the ruling, pacing for its biggest one-day percentage change on record, and hit a two-year high of $8.45 earlier today. What's more, the equity blew past its 50-day moving average, which has acted as a ceiling on the charts since early August.
Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ:PHIO) is one of the worst stocks on the Nasdaq today. The biotech concern has hit an all-time low and is down 50.7% to trade at $3.29, at last check, after pricing its public offering of 2 million units at $4.00 -- a 40% discount to last night's close.